Corala “Ciprian Porumbescu”, Romania © INTERKULTUR

Colorful costumes in the streets of Riga

Get a glimpse of the traditional outfits worn by choirs of the Folklore category

European Choir Games 2017

The participants in the Folklore categories enthrall the audience not only with their singing skills but also with their colorful and various traditional costumes. Romania, Latvia, Croatia, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa presented their national costumes with rich history during the Grand Prix of Nations in “Folklore a cappella” at the Great Guild in Riga.

The singers of Corala “Ciprian Porumbescu” from Romania told us that their costumes origin from the region of Bukovina – a historical region in Central Europe, which is split between Romania and Ukraine. The bright colors and flowers seen in their costumes represent an important part of the traditional clothing.

The choristers of LU FMF Jauktais Koris Aura were wearing costumes from the Trikāta region in the north of Latvia. It is one of the famous Latvian traditional costumes consisting of brightly colored, often striped ankle-length skirts, a white blouse and a colorful vest. The flower crowns the girls are wearing are related to the Summer Solstice or Jāņi – a great celebration throughout the night when flower and leaf crowns are worn by everyone.

The Croatian costumes worn by the members of the mixed choir “INA” were bright white, with many colorful flowers and the traditional kerchiefs. The singers mentioned that the costumes were from the North Western part of Croatia, a region named Posavina, and that Croatia has quite a lot of different traditional costumes.

Paduan Suara El-Shaddai Universitas Sumatera Utara is a choir from Medana, Indonesia, and the members of the choir told us that their costume derives from different parts of the country: their skirts and black collars worn are from North Sumatra, while the white headscarves are from the island of Java. The singers said the greatest aim they want to achieve with their music was to feel happy and to create happiness.

Participants of the vocal ensemble “Cantabile” were wearing traditional Latvian costumes from Alsunga region in the West of the country. The girls told that the traditional costume should be worn with black shoes, as it is a festive outfit and the leather shoes seen in the photo are more suitable for everyday use. The traditional metal crowns used to indicate that the girls are not married, as married woman wore headscarves, but today they have only a decorative purpose.

The Grand Prix of Nations Riga 2017 & 3rd European Choir Games are still running until Sunday, July 23. For more photos, videos and news from the event keep following the official Facebook page.

More performances in the Folklore category can be watched tonight (20:00h) and tomorrow, Juli 22 in Riga Congress Center, starting at 11:30h.

LU FMF Jauktais Koris Aura, Latvia © INTERKULTUR LU FMF Jauktais Koris Aura, Latvia © INTERKULTUR INA, Croatia © INTERKULTUR Paduan Suara El-Shaddai Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia © INTERKULTUR Cantabile, Latvia © INTERKULTUR
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